June 8, 1984
June 8, 1994.
Nearly four decades before the Barbenheimer phenomenon a culture shocking double feature hit theaters. Both Ghostbusters and Gremlins have made a lasting individual impact on pop culture. They are unquestionably two of the most famous film properties to come out of the 1980s. The former released a new installment just this year. The latter recently saw an animated expansion of its lore on the service formerly known as HBO Max. Two films that pushed the concept of mixing horror and comedy forward, influencing countless movies in their wake. Two films that happened to be released on the very same day.
Ghostbusters proved to be the more popular of the two. It debuted atop the weekend box office and remained there for the next seven weeks. It reclaimed the top spot two more times before its theatrical run ended. Officially, Ghostbusters finished the calendar year as the highest grossing film of 1984. Beverly Hills Cop would inevitably pass it with its continued box office in 1985. Gremlins would have to settle for a second-place debut. It ended the calendar year in third place behind Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom and fourth overall when all of Beverly Hills Cop’s box office was finished adding up.
Each saw a direct sequel 5 to 6 years later. Ghostbusters would see both a reboot and a new legacy sequel series decades later. In between the property appeared in animated series and video games. Gremlins was more quiet. Following Gremlins 2: The New Batch in 1990…the property was largely quiet. At least until a well-received animated prequel series materialized last year.
The films, of course, are a lot more than their impressive box office totals and franchise standing. They’ve remained alive since June 8, 1984 on the strength of merchandising. While Gremlins may have laid low for a few decades on our screens…Gizmo maintained an enduring presence in pop culture. Ghostbusters worked harder to stay in the national consciousness…with a steady stream of action figures and games hitting store shelves.
As large as the imprint both properties have made is…their influence is even greater. Gremlins is the direct line to any number of little monster movies that followed. Critters, Ghoulies, Hobgoblins, Munchies…part of the reason Gremlins never truly went away comes down to the sheer number of things created in its image. Ghostbusters wasn’t as commonly ripped off. As the purer comedy of the two, however, its immediate influence on genre films is unmistakable. What would happen next in horror, in fact, is a testament to the popularity of both Ghostbusters and Gremlins.
To delve into this, we need to revisit a somewhat consistent talking point here on ScareValue.com. Namely…the discussion surrounding 1985/86. The period horror went comedy. 1985 saw Fright Night, Re-Animator, Transylvania 6-5000, Once Bitten and The Return of the Living Dead hit theaters. 1986 is the year that Friday the 13th went funny. Tobe Hooper brought back his Texas Chainsaw series for the first time…as a comedy. While movies like Ghoulies, Critters and Troll have a direct line drawn from Gremlins…April Fool’s Day, Night of the Creeps, Little Shop of Horrors, Haunted Honeymoon, House and Trick or Treat also found their way into theaters. Cinemas in the United States were suddenly inundated with horror comedies. To say nothing of the odd genre-comedies like Howard the Duck, Teen Wolf, Weird Science, The Goonies and Big Trouble in Little China.
It’s impossible to look at the financial success of both Ghostbusters and Gremlins and not see a correlation to the plethora of genre comedies finding a green light. Some of it is timing. Horror had been extremely popular in the wake of Halloween in 1978. By the mid-80s the genre was beginning to wane. Especially the slasher sub-genre. Like the Universal Monsters meeting with the comedy duo of Abbott and Costello…a drop into satire or parody was inevitable. But the money raked in by 1984’s massive hits made sure they would be placed front and center.
As we reach the 40-year anniversary of their release, Ghostbusters and Gremlins have lost none of their pop culture appeal. Gizmo and Slimer remain cultural touchstones. Gizmo starred in a Mountain Dew commercial just last year. Slime, of course, made his return to the big screen in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. The fourth main-line Ghostbusters movie to claim the spot. With iconic imagery known the world over and influences that reverberate to this day…two different pop culture phenomena were launched on June 8, 1984.
We’ve covered both Ghostbusters and Gremlins (and Gremlins 2) on recent episodes of Scare Value Podcast. The discussions weren’t had for any film’s specific anniversary (though Ghostbusters was covered for the release of Frozen Empire). We simply wanted to talk about the movies. 39 years into their existence…neither is ever far from one’s mind. We don’t know what the future holds for either franchise. There will probably be another Ghostbusters movie in a few years. We’ve been waiting for a full-fledged Gremlins 3 for nearly 35. Whether they materialize or not…the original films in each series are more than enough to sustain interest in the properties and keep them at the forefront of pop culture for another four decades. All from one day in June of 1984.
